Sotheby’s Is Betting Big on Its June Auction With a $30 Million Lichtenstein Brushstroke Painting, Even as the Sales Remain Uncertain

Ever since auction-house salesrooms shuttered around the globe,
many market watchers have wondered how the businesses would secure
key consignments for their rescheduled evening sales. With no easy
way to get trophies physically in front of potential buyers, let
alone stage a lively IRL bidding war in a packed room, who would
want to take the risk of putting a major lot up for sale?

Now, Sotheby’s has announced that, social distancing or no, it
has secured a plum work to offer next month: Roy
Lichtenstein’s White Brushstroke I (1965), a
Pop-art rendering of a black brushstroke against blue Ben-Day dots.
The work carries an estimate of $20 million to $30 million. A
spokesperson for Sotheby’s confirmed the work is guaranteed to
sell, but would not comment on whether the guarantee came from a
third party or from the house itself. (Third-party guarantee deals
can be negotiated until mere hours before a sale begins.)

The painting comes from a series of 15 canvases that
Lichtenstein completed between 1964 and 1965, a particularly
productive and sought-after period for the artist. The brushstroke
doubles as a wry take on the Abstract Expressionist style that had
dominated the art scene of the preceding decade. Eight examples
from the series belong to or have been promised to museums
including the Art Institute of Chicago, Kunsthaus Zürich, and the
Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

Other bodies of work by the artist are more desirable than the
brushstrokes at auction—chiefly, his nudes and works based on
comic-book panels. The priciest example from this
series, Red and White Brushstrokes (1965),
fetched $28.3 million (toward the low end of its $25 million-to-$35
million estimate range) at Christie’s New York in May 2017.
Notably, the forthcoming White Brushstroke I has
a slightly lower estimate than its predecessor—perhaps a reflection
of how prices have been recalibrated in light of the current
financial climate. Of the top 30 works by Lichtenstein to have sold
at auction, two are brushstrokes, according to the Artnet Price
Database.

“With its cool, mechanical precision and stunning conceptual
depth, Lichtenstein here ushers in the dawn of the Pop-art era,”
said David Galperin, head of Sotheby’s contemporary art evening
auction in New York, in a statement.

The sale—which has now officially been rescheduled from May to
late June, alongside other houses’ marquee spring sales—will also
include a number of other high-priced lots, including a Francis
Bacon triptych estimated at $60 million and works from the
collection of Hunk and Moo Anderson.

It remains to be seen exactly how Sotheby’s will allow for the
kind of in-person viewing experience most collectors (and their
conservators and art advisors) would require before bidding on such
pricey material at a time when much of the world remains on
lockdown. In a statement, the auction house promised “creative
opportunities for those wishing to preview our exhibitions and
participate in our auctions—from in-person and virtual appointment
viewings to enhanced digital experiences.”

The announcement of the Lichtenstein consignment also included
assurances from Sotheby’s that the work would appear in a
live auction the week of June 29, “pending the lifting of
certain restrictions and confirmation from the relevant authorities
that we can proceed.” (The house has rolled its regular June sales
in London and its May New York sales into one event.)

But some remain skeptical. In recent briefings, New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo has said New York City is likely to reopen
considerably later than less affected upstate areas, which are
currently scheduled to begin a phased reopening on May 15. A
spokesperson for Sotheby’s confirmed the company was in contact
with local authorities and but declined to elaborate on safety
precautions, such as a cap on bidders permitted to attend in
person.

The post Sotheby’s Is Betting Big on Its June Auction With a
$30 Million Lichtenstein Brushstroke Painting, Even as the Sales
Remain Uncertain appeared first on artnet News.